


The Tryhard Teacher Series

by kokoro



Category: Persona 4
Genre: Alternate Universe, Gen, M/M, Teacher-Student Relationship
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-05-12
Updated: 2013-05-12
Packaged: 2017-12-11 14:49:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,657
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/799936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kokoro/pseuds/kokoro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yosuke is a teacher. Yes, you read that right.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Tryhard Teacher Series

Once the lunch bell chimed over the school’s tinny loudspeaker system, Yosuke quickly stopped in the teachers’ office to grab his lunch off of his sparse and undecorated desk. It was officially his second week teaching at Yasogami, his second week being a teacher in general, and it had only taken him that long to know that he didn’t want to spend another lunch hour listening to Morooka bitch about some third year girl who hemmed her skirt too short or watching Mr. Hosoi try to feed his hand puppet.  
  
Being brand new to this rice paddy of a town, Yosuke didn’t have any friends here, but that didn’t mean he was desperate enough to keep trying to make small talk with the sideshow of teachers who had clearly spent too long living out in the middle of nowhere. He wondered if he’d meet the same fate someday, if not having access to advanced society inevitably made you lose your mind and start wearing Egyptian headdresses or talk about nothing but your failed marriage. Yosuke could only hope that he’d get transferred to a different prefecture before that could happen, and hopefully one with better cell reception.  
  
He slipped out of the office before anyone could strike up a conversation and jogged up the stairs toward the roof. He’d surveyed the place yesterday after school and figured that it would be a good location to hide out and eat his lunch in peace. His options were pretty limited, coming down to either the roof, a boys’ bathroom stall, or an empty chem lab where he’d have to worry if his bento was picking up trace amounts of… something dangerous. He didn’t teach science, but he could imagine there’d be some unsavory stuff in there.  
  
Yosuke pushed the door open and stepped out onto the roof, wincing at the contrast between Yasogami’s rustic, dimly-lit interior and the sun’s sudden brightness. His eyes adjusted to the light and he couldn’t see many students populating the area, just a couple scattered individuals who didn’t look like they’d bother a teacher if he sat down to eat his lunch and grade some assignments. However, when he looked to his left he made the mistake of making eye contact with a silver-haired boy eating by himself.  
  
He was a student of Yosuke’s, the one in Class 2-2 who was so attentive when Yosuke lectured that it almost made him uncomfortable. For some reason, seeing him here made Yosuke want to abandon this plan and slink back to the teachers’ office rather than share the same space as one of his students. But it was too late, they’d already noticed each other and escape was futile.  
  
The boy gave him a polite smile that actually softened his appearance somewhat, and Yosuke offered an awkward smile of his own and a little wave that he knew looked stupid as soon as he raised his hand. Realizing this implied that they would have to further acknowledge each other’s presence, Yosuke hesitated, inhaled, and then stepped over toward the corner the boy was sitting in. He reminded himself that he had no reason to be intimidated or whatever by his students. _They’re just kids, man._  
  
“Good afternoon, uh…,” He’s blanking, he’s blanking, shit, what’s his name— “Seta-kun.” There we go. “Would you mind if I sat here too?”  
  
The boy— Seta-kun maintained the same collected smile. That was a real pokerface if Yosuke’d ever seen one. “Of course not. Please sit down, sensei.”  
  
Yosuke repressed a little mental shudder at the sound of that. He was beginning to think he’d never get used to being called sensei. The title rang of experience and wisdom and upstanding moral character and it just felt _weird_ , because Yosuke didn’t have any of those things. He was only 24 years old, wearing pink-stained boxers under his suit pants because he forgot to separate the whites and colors, and had kitchen cabinets back at his apartment stocked with every flavor of ramen available. Sensei was not a title he would have selected for himself if he had an honest choice.  
  
“Thanks.” Yosuke carefully seated himself a good five feet away from Seta-kun, giving them enough space for some light conversation to be pleasant but not mandatory. He slung his bag of teaching materials down next to him and began unwrapping his Junes brand bento on his lap. “It’s gotten sunnier since this morning, hasn’t it?”  
  
Seta-kun nodded, thankfully willing to discuss the weather for the sake of small talk. “It has. I hear we’re not supposed to have rain until the end of the week.”  
  
“That’s good,” Yosuke said, “I don’t mind waiting a little longer for the rainy season to kick in.”  
  
Seta-kun nodded again, but only after a preoccupied sort of look flashed across his face. He must have hated the rain as much as Yosuke did. It wasn’t good for much besides ruining his hair.  
  
The boy didn’t voice a reply, looking back down at his lunch. If Yosuke weren’t scrambling to try and think of other things to talk about, he almost would have been impressed. That was the quickest he’d seen a topic of conversation shot down all week, though maybe that’s because most of the country folk he’d met out here so far didn’t know how to shut up. “So… Um. How are your classes going so far?”  
  
“They’re going well. This year looks like it’ll be manageable.”  
  
“Oh yeah? Well then, I’ll make sure at least _my_ class is a challenge for you.” Yosuke laughed a bit too loud and then let it nervously fade out. He should probably get used to actually teaching a class before skipping rungs and trying to make the material difficult.  
  
“I’ll be looking forward to that, then,” Seta-kun replied, and Yosuke couldn’t tell if he was making fun of him or not. The boy’s face seemed serious as a heart attack, but then again it almost always did. Mixing up the vegetables in his homemade bento, the boy went on to ask, “Is this your first year teaching?”  
  
Yosuke rubbed the back of his neck and let out another airy chuckle. “Yeah, I’m brand new. Is it that obvious?”  
  
“Not necessarily. But the way you’re sometimes afraid to call on students is a good giveaway.”  
  
He dropped the bit of rice that was about to go into his mouth. This kid was deadly perceptive. “I-I’m not _afraid_ of my students...!”  
  
“You’re right, I apologize, sensei. That was out of line.” Seta-kun bowed his head down toward Yosuke in polite remittance. “What I meant is that you’ll get used to the classroom setting soon enough.”  
  
“It’s alright. I mean, I hope so, yeah...” They both focused their attention on their lunches, letting the conversation fade out into silence. It was an awkward one from Yosuke’s end, but who knew about Seta-kun, who looked completely unfazed. This kid must have won a pretty lucky draw being so confident by that age. If Yosuke had that sort of presence, maybe he actually would have gotten a job in the entertainment industry like he’d planned instead of having to drag himself back to university for teaching credentials.  
  
Impulsively, Yosuke shattered the silence with a voice suitable for lecturing a class but not for having a simple conversation. “Can you tell me what I’m doing wrong? With my lessons? And, uh, what I should do better?” Seta-kun seemed to be the sort of student who cared enough about his studies to know what made a good teacher and, frankly, Yosuke had no idea how long he would be stuck out in this shithole. He might as well do his best to clean up his act now so he could make this job as painless as possible for everyone, and maybe even get a raise in the process. In other words, he needed tips, and for some reason he got the feeling that this student of his would be a better help than any of his coworkers. Something about him seemed special.  
  
After swallowing the mouthful of food that his teacher abruptly caught him in, Seta-kun agreed to point out anything he thought warranted fixing. Yosuke wasn’t the best at receiving criticism graciously, but this was constructive, so he nodded and took careful mental notes while Seta-kun gave him honest but polite feedback.  
  
Jokes are a good way to get the class involved, but too many can distract from the lesson and/or make a teacher seem unsure of himself. Got it. Calling on students to answer questions is necessary, because they can’t be expected to raise their hands and volunteer themselves. Understood. Adjusting your necktie too many times in class looks fidgety and is a bad habit. Noted. By the time the bell rang again marking the end of lunchtime, Yosuke could have sworn he’d just picked up more valuable information on teaching than he had when preparing for his certification.  
  
An hour later when Yosuke was teaching in Class 2-2, he did his best to apply all of Seta-kun’s advice and the barely noticeable nods the boy would send him when he did so confirmed his success. It took some effort not to smile in pride in the middle of his lesson, which seemed a little backwards. Shouldn’t it be the student feeling gratified at receiving his teacher’s praise? Probably, but that didn’t stop him from looking to Seta-kun for approval almost as much as he did for answers that no one else in the class was willing to give.  
  
Another few hours after that, as Yosuke was grading the homework that his classes had turned in to him that day, he spotted a note on the otherwise blank back of Seta Souji’s paper. It read: _“Today’s was the best class yet. Well done, sensei.”_  
  
This time, hunched over his desk in the teachers’ office, Yosuke didn’t hold back his satisfied smile.


End file.
